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Since 1985, South Dakota Magazine?s writers have traversed their home state to unearth unique stories about its past and present. From their Yankton offices, housed in three old brick buildings built in the 1870s by Territorial Governor John Pennington, staffers recall tales from their travels with entertaining articles paired with full-color photos. Recipes for prize-winning pies share space with accounts of outdoor excursions, previews of upcoming events, and historical articles documenting little-known pieces of South Dakota?s past. One issue is sent to subscribers every two months, giving them plenty of time to read every article and plan which outfit they will wear when reading the next.

In business for more than a century, the family-owned centers specialize in a wide array of photography services. Utilizing the latest digital printing equipment, the knowledgeable robo-staff can create high-quality digital prints from film, digital images, and more. They can turn images into a life-sized poster ($24.99?$29.99) or museum-worthy canvas print ($39.99 and up) to comfort and watch over the cat while you're at work. Create greeting cards, announcements, and invitations for special events ($0.99 and up), or celebrate any occasion with photo-laden gifts such as mugs ($12.99?$16.99), T-shirts ($16.99?$24.99), and calendars ($16.99?$29.99). Harold's can also convert VHS to digital form while editing and adding narration, graphic titles, and music with audiovisual artistry ($19.99 and up).

Lumostudios and Gallery in Vermillion is the perfect spot for craft enthusiasts and hobbyists.
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Start your new job off on the right foot with some handy supplies and accessories from Staples in Sioux City.
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Groupon Guide

When newly engaged couples find themselves in need of wedding-invitation ideas, they typically begin by flipping through offerings from online print shops, independent designers, and stationers. And they quickly learn one thing: the selection is inexhaustible. After their eyes glaze over, they may begin to wonder: does it even matter what the invitation looks like? The answer from our roundtable of experts is an emphatic yes. “The invitation will be the first impression guests have of the wedding and should give them an idea of what to expect,” said Caron Perry, the owner of Chatham & Caron Letterpress Studio. “The invitation design can embody the essence of what you're trying to achieve.”We’ve compiled advice from Perry and her fellow designers to lay down some ground rules. As you weigh wedding-invitation ideas, be sure to consider these five things, which can help set the tone for your wedding.Wording Your InvitationLeft: Courtesy of Chatham & Caron. Right: Courtesy of Champagne Press.A very traditional wedding would be hosted by the bride’s parents, so the invitation would also begin with them: “Mr. and Mrs. [bride’s father] request the honor of your presence at the marriage of their daughter.” As more couples pay for their own celebrations, though, the opening will commonly read “Together with their families, [the couple] cordially request your presence.” Or it may omit the rest of the family altogether. (No offense, Mom.)Invitation designers counsel couples to use formal wording, at least on the invitation card, even if they’re having a less traditional wedding. That means spelling out dates—Saturday the Sixth of June, for example—and avoiding abbreviations. “It’s the one opportunity in your life that you get to have a formal affair,” said Julie Chaet of Champagne Press. “With the dates, the year, and things like that, I think it’s nice to keep it traditional.”If you’re definitely opposed to stuffy wording, have some fun. Try out phrases like “[couple] invite you to party with us” or “eat, drink, and be married with [couple].”Choosing Your Fonts and Printing MethodLeft: Courtesy of Champagne Press. Right: Courtesy of Julie Hanan Designs.“Most people can generally look at the invitation and determine how formal [the wedding’s] going to be,” said Julie Hanan, who owns Julie Hanan Designs. The font choice is one of the most immediate indicators of the level of formality, which most guests use to figure out what to wear. Calligraphy and serif fonts exude a more traditional, classic style, while sans-serif fonts are more contemporary and sleek. If your wedding has a rustic or vintage tone, Chaet said, aged-looking typefaces can convey that in print form. Formal invitations are usually printed using letterpress, thermography, or engraving—more labor-intensive methods that require the customer to pay per color. Digital printing offers a wider range of colors at a lower price, but among the traditional-minded it might indicate a more casual wedding. (A swanky country-club wedding, for instance, will probably have invitations engraved with a serif font in black.)Selecting Your PaperSome guests may be able to figure out the tone of your wedding by the weight of the invitation. Printing methods like letterpress and engraving require a thicker, cotton-based paper; digital printing uses thinner cardstock. You might even want to consider the paper’s hue: “An ecru paper is a classic color, especially paired with black or gold ink,” Perry said. “A bright white paper is more contemporary.” (Colorful cardstock is likewise more modern.)Chaet considers the paper properties as yet another way to convey the tone to guests. “If we’re talking about an outdoor, rustic-type wedding or a minimalistic bohemian kind of invite, I’ll try to guide them toward something that’s a little bit more organic and has more fibers in the paper. If they’re having a modern wedding, I usually will direct them toward something that’s a little smoother, has a more plastic feel.”Including EnclosuresCourtesy of Julie Hanan DesignsIn a highly traditional invitation, the initial card asks guests to attend the marriage ceremony, usually at a place of worship. An enclosed reception card then directs them to the celebration that follows. “I’d say we see it sort of half and half, where people are including [the reception card] or they prefer to include it on the main invitation just to save a bit of money,” Hanan said.So a lot couples are forgoing at least one enclosure. But there’s something like seven others you can include—what about those? Unsurprisingly, invitations with multiple cards, such as directions, accommodations, and weekend activities, will be considered more formal by guests. Couples who are trying to save money or simply don’t want the bother of multiple enclosure cards might opt for a small insert directing guests to a wedding website for more information.Formal invitations will also include an RSVP card complete with an addressed and stamped envelope (the US Postal Service and Zazzle actually offer wedding-specific stamps). According to Hanan, more casual invitations could change up the wording (“can’t wait to celebrate” vs. “accepts”), add some fun (like music requests or an ad-lib-style reply), use a postcard, or ask people to RSVP online.Going for GraphicsLeft: Courtesy of Julie Hanan Designs. Right: Courtesy of Chatham & Caron.If your wedding is on a beach or a ranch, it’s probably obvious that it isn’t a black-tie affair. So there’s no harm in including a themed graphic that hints at the playful tone of your nuptials. But if you don’t want to go all out and decorate your invite with seashells, there are other ways to get your message across. And Chaet suggests that you definitely do get your message through—guests will want to know if they’re attending a wedding with an unusual theme or an outdoor location. Printing “seaside celebration” or using a nautical color scheme should tell your friends not to wear their stilettos; a carefully chosen vintage-style font could indicate a carnival or Roaring Twenties theme.And don’t forget the rest of the packet: “If you’d like to keep the invitation card itself more traditional, you could add a patterned starfish envelope liner to a color envelope,” Perry said. “That way your guests can get a hint of your theme and color without it being overwhelming.”Top photo illustration by Mark Mills, Groupon

Your business card isn’t just a rundown of how to reach you; it’s also a reflection of who you are. But if you’ve never created your own business card before, a blank template can be daunting. Are you including too much information or too little? Are you including the right information? And does it even look good?We’ve compiled a bunch of business-card ideas to help you accurately and attractively convey what you’re all about, even if what you’re all about is being a river: 1. Consider your industryIs it better for you to be all business or a little bit playful? Humor and whimsy can be charming, or they can detract from the seriousness of your job. Think about the types of professionals you’re trying to impress and whether they would appreciate a lighter touch or a more straightforward design.2. Keep it simpleIt’s best not to clutter your card with too much information, so leave out the extraneous stuff. Essential information includes your name, your business’s name, and your contact info—any other details should be used sparingly. This allows for more blank space on the card, which can be an aesthetically pleasing choice for a pair of weary eyeballs. 3. Choose a cohesive color scheme
Color helps a card pop, but it can also be overwhelming. Make sure to pick colors that complement each other and fit within a single color scheme. 4. Consider the back of your card
A creative way to highlight your product is by depicting it on the back of your business card. This can also be a place to add a logo or design that exists purely to catch the eye. Many prefer to leave this space blank, which is perfectly OK as well. 5. Stand out in a subtle wayThere are a few ways to make your business card stand out without carving it from balsa wood or dipping it in chocolate. You can orient it vertically rather than horizontally or even choose an unusual shape (so long as it’s not awkward to fit into a wallet). BONUS TIPS:
Keep your design away from the margins to protect against having text or images cut off. Also avoid borders, since they may turn out lopsided if your cards aren’t printed and cut precisely.Consider using high-quality paper and finishes. While more expensive, these elements can convey your professionalism and complement your design.Steer clear of overly large typeface—it can come across as cheesy or amateurish.Illustrations by Greyory Blake, Groupon. Jen Jackson and Sean O'Toole contributed to the anthropomorphism in this article.

These days, we have pictures everywhere. On our phones, our tablets, our Facebooks, our Flickrs, our Instagrams. Everywhere, it seems, except for on paper, actually in our hands. Photo books have started to change that—thoughtful, curated volumes of images arranged thematically (even if that theme is just “Random Photos”) with custom templates. They might seem like big projects, but they really don’t have to be. Here are eight photo book ideas that’ll get you printing in a flash.1. Focus on a single event as opposed to entire years.You don’t have to capture the entire essence of your entire family in a single photo book. Instead, narrow your focus to one fond memory—e.g. a Fourth of July parade or a trip to the water park—to keep yourself from feeling overwhelmed.2. Or, focus on a small part of a major event.Cramming an entire wedding, for example, into one photo book could be impossible. Try putting together photos of you and your bridesmaids getting ready as a thank-you for all their help; or, collect your honeymoon pictures as a romantic gift for your first anniversary.3. Look for websites with automated features.Many sites, including Shutterfly and Collage.com, allow you to upload images directly from Facebook, Flickr, or other social-media platforms, meaning you don’t even have to save your content to a personal device first.4. Don’t forget the dog.If you’re like most pet owners, your phone is probably rover-flowing (see what we did there?) with pictures of your favorite furry friend. They’re a member of the family just like anyone else, so pay homage to their playful spirit with a playful photo book all their own.5. Take one photo a day for an entire year.Did you just move to a new city? Or is your child about to entire their senior year of high school? Capture the excitement of an exciting time by taking one picture each day for an entire year, storing them in a special folder until it’s time to start creating your book.6. Celebrate a single holiday or family tradition.Maybe your relatives play football together every Thanksgiving, or there’s a picture of every kid in your extended family with birthday cake smashed into their hair. If nothing else, Project: Photo Book will give you an excuse to start some new family traditions you can photograph.7. Create a coffee-table book from your favorite hobby.If you’re a music lover, for instance, unload all those concert photos off your phone and into a book. If you coached your kid’s soccer team, ask the other parents to email you pictures they took over the course of the season.8. Document your world travels.Devote a book to each stamp in your passport—the summer you spent in Paris, or the Christmas your family skied in Aspen. Every vacation has its own vibe, so why not give each its own photo book?Photos courtesy of Collage.com and Printerpix.com